Laminated mattress with sealed foundation units

ABSTRACT

A MATTRESS CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYING A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL AIR-TIGHT FOUNDATION UNITS INSERTED WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF A FOAM MATERIAL HOUSING IN A JUXTAPOSED RELATIONSHIP BUT WITHOUT BEING SECURED TO EACH OTHER OR TO THE HOUSING WALLS.

Feb. 23,1911 J.A. X FQRD 3,564,628

LAMINATED MATTRESS WI TH SEALED FOUNDATION UNITS Filed June 6, 196 8 A! mwwm vINVENTOR JOHN A. OXFORD United States Patent 3,564,628 LAMINATED MATTRESS WITH SEALED FOUNDATION UNITS John A. Oxford, P.O. Box 647, Americus, Ga. 31709 Filed June 6, 1968, Ser. No. 734,921 Int. Cl. A47c 27/10 US. Cl. 5348 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mattress construction employing a plurality of individual air-tight foundation units inserted within the interior of a foam material housing in a juxtaposed relationship but without being secured to each other or to the housing walls.

This invention relates to cushions, mattresses, pillows, and similar articles of manufacture, having a variety of uses, and in which the mattress construction, according to this invention, is designed to replace conventional foundation units, box springs and inner springs by a unique employment of captive air within the mattress structure.

Cushions or mattresses of the type with which this invention is concerned and which are known in the art consist usually of inner spring units, that is, small springs each sewed in a cloth envelope, hog-ringed together at top and bottom. This construction was designed to give contour support to the body where pressure was applied and at the same time hold a flat surface. It has been found that these inner spring units have very little, if any, holding or carrying power and the springs themselves have a tendency ot collapse or bottom out when under pressure. As a result, the entire inner spring unit is usually placed on top of a foundation spring to strengthen its overall support. Because the spring containing envelopes are hog-ringed together, individual action of each inner spring unit will be retarded, thus causing a jelly-like vibration or pitch and roll to be set up when such mattresses are under pressure. More recently, with the advent of foam rubber and cellular polyurethane and other elastomers, such mattresses as above described have employed blocks of such cellular materials varying in elasticity to form foundation units within the mattress and thereby improve the load carrying capacity as well as enhance contour shaping. In such constructions where cubes or squares of elastomers as above described are sandwiched between slabs of foam rubber of the like, the purpose is again to improve conformation of the mattress to the contour of the body, as well as to reduce the weight and cost of the mattress. With firm units of cellular material in the center of the matress, the outer layers of the mattress are assisted in supporting the weight of the body acting on the mattress. Here, again, however, 'with the absence of a foundation weight carrying unit, as for example with spring foundations above mentioned, the foam rubber or cellular-type mattress will collapse or, again, bottom out under pressure. Also in use are air mattresses which utilize a supply of contained. air, the firmness of the air mattress being controlled by the amount of air pumped into it. These constructions suffer from the fact that a jellylike vibration cannot be eliminated, nor do these mattresses hold their shape when pressure is applied. Accordingly, it is the purpose of this invention to overcome ice the above-mentioned defects in mattress construction and to provide a cushion or mattress construction which will not bottom out nor give rise to pitch and roll vibrations and which will offer a form-fitting weight-receiving surface, particularly for the human body.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a mattress construction which utilizes captive air as a pressure receiver and carrier in place of springs, but which will eliminate the occurrence of jellylike vibrations normally associated with air mattresses and further which will automatically form-fit and equalize the pressure to the contour of the human body.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mattress construction in which weight and thickness are substantially reduced without sacrificing resistance to bottoming out as well as conforming to body contour and equalizing weight receiving pressure, and which can be turned over to offer weight receiving surfaces of different firmness.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved mattress construction which replaces foundation supports or box spring elements with improved individual self-contained units of simplified construction and which are not interconnected can be used on a hard, fiat foundation without the aid of additional flexible weight support means.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved mattress construction offering maximum comfort with minimum weight and space thus advantageously lending itself for use where conservation of space is of prime importance, such as spacecraft vehicles, ships, mobile home units, and other land vehicles.

In accordance with one embodiment utilizing the principles of this invention, there is provided an improved mattress construction in which a plurality of self-contained, captured air units are juxtaposed but not interconnected with one another and placed between layers of cellular foam material to provide a thin cushion, which is adapted to be placed on a hard, flat surface and which will carry body weight without collapsing or bottoming out, while at the same time eliminating jelly-likevibration. With this construction extra pressure or Weight applied at a given point on the mattress will be distributed so as not to place additional pressure on the heavier parts of the body, thereby offering a form-fitting surface for supporting the complete contour of the body with equal weight support. The advantage of this construction makes it possible to realize an automatically self-adjusting and equalizing weight support to the contour of the body, thus eliminating fatigue and discomfort to sections or areas of the body where excess weight must be supported.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a study of the following specification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mattress construction according to the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a single self-contained foundation unit according to the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2a is a magnified view of the envelope material shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a fully constructed mattress similar to that shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 illustrates in perspective a further embodiment employing a varying number of layers of foam material on opposing sides of the mattress.

'Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a mattress 2 constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention. The mattress is shown to have opposing side walls 4, opposing end walls 6, a bottom wall 8 and a top wall 10 of suitable foam rubber, polyurethane, or other cellular elastomeric material. Within the space or interior formed by the foam rubber walls are placed a plurality of self-contained foundation units .12, the specific structure of which is shown more clearly in FIG. 2. These units 12, which form the function of carrying the weight placed on the mattress, are sealed, air-tight units which are shown as being generally oblong in shape although other shapes, such as squares or other polygonal shapes, may be used. It is important, however, that the overall dimensions be small enough so that a substantial number of such units can be utilized with a given mattress for reasons to be explained below. In the case of a cushion or mattress designed for supporting the human body, it is preferable to have such units not exceeding eight inches in length, six inches in width, and three inches in height. Each of the units 12 is composed of a sealed envelope of cloth-backed plastic upholstering material, as best shown in FIG. 2a, for example, a woven cord material 14a coated on one side by a suitable polyvinylchloride, plastic, or latex material 14b. The strength of the material and the type of cords utilized must be sufiicient to prevent blowouts or ruptures when carrying excessive weights or loads. Further, the thickness of the cord or fabric 14a can vary to thereby affect the degree of firmness or softness of the mattress proper. The envelope 14, before being hermetically sealed, is preferably filled with a foam material 16, such as polyurethane, or the like. This filler material 16 will function to hold and control the movements of the captive air contained within the sealed envelop 14. It will be understood that it is the woven cords of the cloth material 14a making up the envelope 1-4 that determine the shape of the unit 12 and not the filler material 16 contained within the envelope. After the envelope 14 is filled with the cellular material 16, the envelope is then sealed making it air tight.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the foundation units 12. are placed within the interior of the mattress 2. This is done, of course, before the top layer 10 is secured to the side and end walls by the conventional heat sealing method. Each of the foundation units 12 are juxtaposed together to fill up the entire space provided, but are not attached or secured in any way to each other or to the walls of the mattress. When the top cover 10 is placed over the assembled units 12 and secured to the edges of the side and end walls, the mattress will then be ready for use. Each of the foundation units 12 will support the pressure directly applied to it through the top layer 10 without, however, transferring this pressure to adjacent units, thus eliminating any jelly-like vibrations or pitch and roll that would otherwise be set up through the entire mattress. Of course, each self-contained foundation unit 12 will transmit within itself such vibrations, but these will be so small as to be undetected when compared to the dimensions of the entire mattress. The reason for this is that when pressure is applied to a particular foundation unit 12, that pressure will be transferred to the sides of an adjoining unit, but when this takes place, a reverse reaction is set up. The additional pressure to the sides of the adjacent unit forces the top or weight-receiving area to fit the contour of the body applying pressure over that particular area. This results in a tendency to equalize the weight-receiving areas against which the contour of the body is in contact. As a result, all areas of the body resting against the mattress are supported and, further, since the bottom side of the mattress 2 is normally placed on a hard, fiat surface, any additional pressure created in the manner above described can only di- 4 rect itself upwardly. As previously mentioned, any jellylike vibrations are eliminated and the body will not sense any roll or pitch-type of movement.

As shown in FIG. 4, the top surface 10 of the mattress may be used to support additional layers 18. In this arrangement the top side of the mattress 2 will present a softer surface than the bottom of the mattress and should the individual using this mattress desire a change in degree of softness, he then need merely turn the mattress over and use that particular side which is agreeable to his comfort.

The mattress constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention will have an overall thickness of approximately four inches and will be equivalent, if not superior, in comfort and performance to a mattress equipped with box springs having a thickness of from ten to twelve inches and supported on an additional foundation spring unit. This saving in space, coupled with the fact that the mattress of this invention can be used directly on a hard, flat surface, makes it particularly useful in space-economized enclosures, such as vehicles, spacecraft, ships, etc. It is further contemplated that the mattress according to this invention can be covered and sealed by an overall envelope made of material similar to that used in constructing the individual foundation units 12. This arrangement would allow the mattress to be used as a life raft. Of course, any suitable upholstering material can be used to cover the foam layers.

It should be also understood that the individual foundation units 12 need not be filled with the foam material 16, but may be filled with other materials, such as felt, paper, spun glass, or any reasonably flexible light-weight material. The units 12 could also function if the hermetically sealed coverings 14 were hollow inside; however, for the reasons above mentioned, it is preferable to use a cellular material as a filler means.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been depicted and described, it will be apparent that these embodiments are illustrative'in nature and that a number of modifications in the apparatus and variations in its end use may be effected without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. In a flexible foam cushioned article, the combination comprising, a foam material housing having a hollow interior, a plurality of individual, non-communicating, separately sealed envelope means each having a supply of air contained therein and positioned independently in nonconnected, contiguous realtionship within said interior of said housing.

2. In the article according to claim 1, said plurality of envelope means being of substantially rectangular block form and arranged in a plurality of rows so as to fill the interior of said housing.

3. In a flexible cushioned article, the combination comprising, a foam material housing having a hollow interior, a plurality of compressible, individual foundation units positioned within said interior in contiguous but noncommunicating and non-connected relationship and each of said individual foundation units surrounded by a flexible sealed envelope means providing an air-tight compartment.

4. In a flexible cushioned article, the combination comprising, a foam material housing having a hollow interior, a plurality of individual foundation units of foam material positioned within said interior in contiguous, non-connected and non-communicating relationship and occupying completely the interior of said housing, and a preshaped flexible sealed envelope means surrounding each of said individual foam material units providing an airtight container for said units.

5. In the arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said flexible sealed envelope surrounding each foam unit comprises a pre-shaped corded fabric having a plastic sealing material coating on one side thereof and which preshaped corded fabric determines the shape of the individual units.

6. In a flexible cushioned article, the combination comprising, a pair of top and bottom foam material layers, pairs of opposing side walls of foam material separating said top and bottom layers, and a plurality of individual, sealed air-tight compressible, foundation units of substantially rectangular block form positioned between said top and bottom layers in contiguous and non-interjoined rela- 1O tionship.

7. In the arrangement according to claim 6, wherein additional foam material layers are superimposed on said top layer to provide a varying degree of firmness from that of said bottom layer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1956 Rockofi 5-348 3/1967 Porten 5348 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner 

